Taking a closer look at food labels

What's in a label? Good question as USDA's Economic Research Service found out when it undertook a review of food labeling and the impact of Federal organic and nutrition labels. The final report is called Beyond Nutrition and Organic Labels - 30 Years of Experience with Intervening in Food Labels.

Food labeling is a challenging issue. Consumers tend to trust those labels approved by the government because they come with a specific set of standards. For example, the Certified Organic label from USDA did provide consistency in labeling. Yet ERS found consumers couldn't always see the difference between Certified Organic and "natural" or some other near-organic claim.